Leader of the House of Lords

Machinery of Government Changes

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: This written ministerial statement sets out several machinery of government changes that have been made. A new Department for Exiting the European Union has been created, with responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. It will also lead work to establish the future relationship between the UK and EU. In doing this it will work very closely with the UK’s Devolved Administrations, the UK Parliament, other government departments and a wide range of other interested parties. The new department will be formed by combining staff from the Cabinet Office’s Europe Unit, the Europe Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU; and in time will take on staff from other government departments as is needed. A new Department for International Trade has also been created, with overall responsibility for promoting British trade across the world. It will develop, coordinate and deliver a new trade policy for the UK, including preparing for and then negotiating Free Trade Agreements and market access deals with non-EU countries. The new department will be a specialised body with significant new trade negotiating capacity. It will take on the responsibilities of UK Trade and Investment, the relevant trade functions of the former Department for Business Innovation and Skills; and take on responsibility for UK Export Finance. The functions of the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in respect of higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and skills have been transferred to the Department for Education. Bringing these responsibilities together in a single department will mean that the Government can take a comprehensive, end-to-end view of skills and education, supporting people from early years through to postgraduate study and work. The Department for Energy and Climate Change and the remaining functions of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have been merged to form a new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, bringing together responsibility for business, industrial strategy, and science and innovation with energy and climate change policy. The new department will be responsible for helping to ensure that the economy grows strongly in all parts of the country, based on a robust industrial strategy. It will ensure that the UK has energy supplies that are reliable, affordable and clean; and it will make the most of the economic opportunities of new technologies, and support the UK’s global competitiveness more effectively. More detailed Cabinet Office papers on each of these changes have been placed in the Library of both Houses.



DEEU Explanatory Note
(PDF Document, 87.02 KB)




DIT Explanatory Note
(PDF Document, 94.63 KB)




DBEIS Explanatory Note
(PDF Document, 101.96 KB)




DfE and BIS Explanatory Note
(PDF Document, 96.56 KB)

Home Office

Community Sponsorship

Baroness Williams of Trafford: My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Amber Rudd) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:The Refugee Resettlement Programme Team is a tri-departmental team, based in the Home Office. This reflects the cross cutting nature of the resettlement programme. This Written Ministerial Statement has been prepared by officials from the joint team and agreed by both myself and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.The response of the British public to the refugee crisis resulting from the conflict in Syria has been one of overwhelming generosity, and many have been moved to make offers of assistance. At the Conservative Party Conference, the then Home Secretary said that we would build on offers of support to develop a community sponsorship scheme to allow individuals, charities, faith groups, churches and businesses to support refugees directly.I am pleased to announce today details of how the Government will empower local communities to support the most vulnerable refugees through community sponsorship. This includes a ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ digital register of offers from the public, and a scheme for full community sponsorship.The ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ register, hosted on the gov.uk website, will make it easier for the public to support vulnerable refugees in the UK. Local authorities will be able to identify the goods and services that they require to support refugees, individuals will then be able to submit their offers, and the system will channel them to the areas where they are going to be used. ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ is being launched in nine pilot local authorities initially. (They are, Broxtowe, Cambridge, Cornwall, Coventry, Gateshead, Lambeth, City of Nottingham, Wiltshire, and City of York.) Offers of help made by members of the public in all non-pilot areas will be considered centrally by the Resettlement Programme Team before being passed on to local authorities. In Scotland, offers of support will be directed to the ‘Scotland Welcomes Refugees’ website through a link on the gov.uk website.The full community sponsorship scheme will enable community groups to take on the challenging but rewarding role of welcoming and supporting a refugee family in the UK. Full community sponsorship will commence on a small scale, and the resettled families will be among those referred by the UNHCR under the Syrian resettlement and vulnerable children’s resettlement schemes.Accordingly, a Ministerial Arrangement under paragraph 1 (d) of Schedule 23 to the Equality Act 2010 has been made to allow a community sponsorship scheme for vulnerable Syrians resettled in the UK. I am placing a copy of the Arrangement for this concession in the Library of both Houses of Parliament.Community sponsors will be responsible for supporting the resettled family from the moment of their arrival in the UK. This will include, for example, meeting the family at the airport, giving a warm welcome and explaining UK and local culture, providing housing, helping them register with medical and social services, arranging English language tuition, and supporting them towards employment and self-sufficiency.Supporting a vulnerable resettled family is a significant responsibility. The Home Office will approve every sponsoring organisation. The approval process will ensure that each prospective sponsor has sufficient resources (housing, financial and personnel); has a credible plan for supporting a resettled family, backed by relevant experience; and does not present a risk to the resettled family.In order to develop the scheme, the Government has been working with a number of prospective sponsors and local authorities. Lambeth Palace are the first community group to be approved and receive a Syrian family.Guidance on how to become a community sponsor will be published on the gov.uk website today. This is an exciting and ground-breaking new development for resettlement in the UK. I hope that this new approach will help bring communities together and support these often traumatised and vulnerable families as they rebuild their lives, and contribute to and thrive in our country.


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS95

The Lord Chairman of Committees

Members' Finance Scheme

Lord Laming: On 29 June the House Committee agreed the following administrative changes to the Members’ Finance Scheme. First, Members on the Armed Forces, Police Service and Industry and Parliament Trust schemes are no longer required to apply in advance for approval for travel costs in relation to these schemes. Second, the form for Members claiming travel costs for their spouse, civil partner or child will now require Members to identify their spouse or civil partner.Information on travel expenses for spouse, civil partner and child travel, travel expenses for the Lords outreach programme, travel as a representative of the House, and additional costs in respect of disability will be added to the information already routinely published about allowances and expenses claimed by Members. The information will relate to expenses from 1 September 2016 and will have due safeguards for personal data. Expenses for spouse, civil partner and child travel will be added to the regular monthly online publication of information. The other information will be published annually